2017: Dawn of Drones

Hey there, fellow Dronethusiasts! We’re at the beginning of 2017 and boy, have we seen some awesome tech steal the spotlights in the year gone by!

As time goes by, we’re becoming more and more reliant on technology to execute our daily tasks, which are getting much easier and quicker to accomplish. Sure it’s got its challenges, but we’re all able to deal with them. Life gets faster by the day and technology is what makes it easier to keep up with it. So, in 2016, we saw a rise in demand for conventional drones and quadcopters; Nifty little devices that have the potential to change the course of human lives entirely. We’ve started seeing commercial experiments with Drones in 2016. Commercial drones are still not a conventional norm in the market but we can expect a lot more to come from them in 2017, so lets keep our fingers crossed!

According to CNNTech, Drones and Virtual Reality are two of the most sought after technologies in the industry in 2016. The report also cites that the Drone Industry is forecast to hit $6 billion by 2020.While a section of the tech industry was facing stagnancy and market devaluations, Drones and Virtual Reality technologies stood out as the “bright lights” of the tech world. The Drone Industry is on the front foot and we’ve been seeing a lot from it in the last few months, especially during Christmas. Every kid wants in on the aerial action and drones are some of the most talked about gizmos among the youth.

The DJI Phantom 4

China is especially enjoying the surge in demand for Drones as its lax regulations for civilian drone-flying have enabled a number of their Drone Companies to come up with interesting concepts for Drones without any legal restrictions. Chinese Dronemaker, DJIis now the world’s largest dronemaker and a symbol of tech success in Shenzhen which is widely regarded as China’s Silicon Valley.

“If you look at the retail smartphone market, it’s in a later stage of maturity. There’s a great deal of competition and even talk of near-saturation,” said DJI’s global communications director, Adam Najberg.” That’s very different from the drone market. The professional need for unmanned aerial systems is rising in agriculture, search & rescue, firefighting and industrial inspection.”

Adam Najberg with the DJI Phantom 4

Another Chinese company, eHang is working on a large drone that can carry passengers over short distances based on GPS automation for directions. Designated the eHang 184, this could very well revolutionize transport in the future if they manage to pull it off and has already been showcased at several tech shows around the world.

The eHang 184

That isn’t to say though, that the rest of the world isn’t interested in drones. French Wireless Tech company, Parrot is hard on DJI’s tail in the drone industry and has made strides in the Drone industry this year by releasing top notch conventional drones that go head to head with DJI’s products. American tech-giant is also planning to launch their own drones this year, citing their potential in aerial photography. Delivery service companies like Amazon and Dominoes Pizza have tried experiments in drone-based delivery and plan to launch them soon. Amazon even acquired the patents for deploying drones from their warehouses.

From all that information, we think it’s safe to assume that 2017 is an exciting year to look forward to for the drone industry. So if you’re reading this and are excited about drones, go out there and grab your favorite drone and be ahead of the competition! It’s going to be a big year for you guys!